Antigenicity, function, and conformation of synthetic oligopeptides corresponding to amino-terminal sequences of wild-type and mutant matrix proteins of vesicular stomatitis virus.

The matrix (M) protein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has a major antigenic determinant (epitope 1) that maps to a region extending from amino acids 19 through 43 and transcription-inhibition activity that maps to the first 43 N-terminal amino acids (J.R. Ogden, R. Pal, and R. R. Wagner, J. Virol. 58:860-868, 1986). The M protein of temperature-sensitive mutant tsO23(III) is devoid of epitope 1 and transcription-inhibition activity and substitutes glutamic acid for glycine at amino acid 21 as well as having amino acid substitutions at positions 111 and 227 (K. Morita, R. Vanderoef, and J. Lenard, J. Virol. 61:256-263, 1987). We undertook to map more precisely epitope 1 and the transcription-inhibition region of VSV M protein by means of synthetic oligopeptides generated by an automated solid-phase protein synthesizer. A pentadecapeptide designated PI(wt, Gly21), corresponding to amino acids 17 to 31 of wild-type (wt) M protein, strongly bound monoclonal antibody MAb2 (directed to epitope 1); however, an analogous pentadecapeptide with glutamic acid substituted for glycine at position 21, designated PII(tsO23, Glu21), completely failed to recognize MAb2. Polyclonal antibody raised in rabbits immunized with PI(wt, Gly21) reacted strongly with wt M protein, the homologous pentadecapeptide, and, to a lesser extent, PII(tsO23, Glu21). Anti-PII(tsO23, Glu21) failed to recognize PI(wt, Gly21) or wt M protein. Anti-PI(wt, Gly21) competed efficiently for binding of MAb2 to wt M protein and was as effective as MAb2 in reversing inhibition of VSV transcription by wt M protein. Neither PI(wt, Gly21) nor PII(tsO23, Glu21) exhibited any ability to inhibit VSV transcription. However, a lysine-rich oligopeptide, PII(Met1-Leu20), corresponding to the first 20 N-terminal amino acids of wt M protein, and polylysine itself did inhibit VSV transcription, albeit much less efficiently than native wt M protein. Monospecific polyclonal antibody directed to the 20-mer oligopeptide PIII(Met1-Leu20) reversed transcription inhibition by M protein in a dose-dependent manner almost identical to that of anti-PI(wt, Gly21) and epitope 1-specific MAb2. Examination by circular dichroism spectropolarimetry revealed significant differences in the conformation of the two pentadecapeptides attributable to the Gly in equilibrium Glu amino acid substitution at position 21.